Container closure



Dec. 29, i942. G. Myst-:Ls

CONTAINER CLOSURE Filed April 18, 1940 Fatented- Z9, l@

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GONTAINER CLOSUBE George Mysels, New York,N. Y.

Application April 18, 1940, Serial No. 330.421

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improved closure for containers especiallyto a closure for paper containers or cups of the type commonly used inrestaurants for holding beverages and other liquids and semi-solids,such as cereals and desserts, where such food and beverages are to becarried away from the restaurant for. consumption.

More p articularly, it is an object oi' the inven tion'tor provide acover for paper cup containers having improved means for retaining thecover in position on the open top of the cup or container whereby thecover may be readily applied or removed to thereby obviate the risk ofspilling the contents of the container while applying or removing thecover.

Still another aim of the invention is to provide an improved form ofjoint for retaining the cover in position on the container including arim carried by the container for holding a beading of the cover inspaced relationship relatively to the wall of the container so that thebeading may be readily grasped and drawn out of engagement with the rimfor detachlng the cover.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter becomemore fully apparent from the following description of the drawingl whichillustrates preferred embodiments thereof, and wherein- Figure l is aperspective view of the preferred form of the invention and showing thecover in applied position,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along theplane ofthe line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary central vertical sectional view of the upperportion of the container and showing .the cover positioned ready to beappliedthereto, and I Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of amodifled form of container and cover, shown detached and in perspective.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like referencecharacters designate like or corresponding parts throughout thediiierent views, I designates generally a container pref. erablyformedof paper or cardboard and which comprises a cylindrical side wall I Iand a bottom I2. 'I'he side wall II at its lower end is turned inwardlyupon itself to form an annular groove I3 for receiving an annulardepending flange I4 of the bottom I2 for mounting the bottom in thecylindrical wall II.

The open upper end of the container or cup I 0 is provided with a rim,designated generally I5,

which is formed integral with the wall Il by folding the upper end ofthe wall outwardly and then inwardly upon itself a plurality of times toform the rim I5 which is substantially triangular in cross section, asseen in Figures 2 and 3. 'I'he rim I5 includes an upper surface I6 whichis substantially flat and which extends downwardly and outwardly fromthe brim I1 of the container I Il. 'Ihe rim I5 also includes asubstantiallyat under surface I8 forming a shoulder and which isdisposed at an 'acute angle to thesurface I 6 and substantially at aright angle to cylindrical wall I I.

A cover for the container or cup I0, designated generally I9, includesla substantially ilai; t'op portion 20 which is adapted to cover theopen top of the container I0 and to rest flush on the brim I1 thereof,and an annular flange 2i which projects outwardly and downwardly fromthe top portion 20 and which is provided at its free edge with aninturned rolled portion forming an annular beading 22.

As best seen-in Figure 3, the circumference of the inner edge of thebeading 22 is less than the circumference of the widest portion of therim I5 and greater than the circumference of its upper narrowestportion, so that when the cover I9 is placed over'the open top o f thecontainer or cup In, beading 22 will rest on the ilat surface I8intermediate of its upper and lower edges. The cover I9, which is of thesame material as the container I0, is sufficiently yieldable so thatwhen pressed downwardly its flange 2! will spread sufficiently to allowthe beading 22 to i expand and slide over-the widest portion of the rimI5, and to then retract to engage beneath the outer portion of shoulderI8, as seen at Figure 2. As the cover I9 is pressed down on thecontainer I 0 the surface I8- acts as a cam surface for the beading 22for expanding it. and

when said beading is released to assume the position as seen inFigure-2, the ilange 2I will likewise be drawn inwardly to rest flushagainst the 'surface It, thereby latching the cover on the container I cfor closing its open end. With the cover Il, in its applied position, asseen in Figure 2, the beading 22 engages beneath the outer portion ofthe shoulder I8 and is spaced from the cylindrical wall II, so that thecover I9 can be removed by placing the fingers against the. inner sideof beading 22 and pulling outwardly thereon to detach a portion'of thebeading from the rim I5, and to thereby readily release the cover byexerting only a lslight pressure thereon to obviate the danger ofabruptly releasing the cover, as where excessive pressure is requiredfor removing it, which would result in jarring the container I0 andsplashing and spilling the contents thereof.

In Figure 4, a modified form of the invention is shown comprising acontainer 24 which may be rectangular in cross section, or of any otherdesired shape, and which is provided at its upper end with an integralexterior enlargement forming a continuous rim 25 having a rounded outerportion 26. Container I0 is adapted to be closed by a cover 21 of thesame shape having a depending continuous marginal ilange provided at itslower free edge with an inwardly projecting enlargement forming a'beading 28 which is rounded at its inner side, as seen at 29, forengaging the rounded portion- 26 to expand the ilange of cover 21 andpermit the beading 28 to pass the rounded portion 26 of the rim 25 andto engage therebeneath for latching the cover 21 on the open upper endof the container 24.

Obviously the form of the invention, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and3, may be constructed in various shapes without affecting the means for'latching the closure to the container and may be formed of othermaterial of a more permanent character such as wood or metal.

Various modications and changes are contemplated a-nd may obviously beresorted to, as only preferred embodiments o'f the invention have beendisclosed.

I claimv as my invention:

In a closure for paper containers, an annular walled paper containerhaving an outwardly rolled open end, said outwardly rolled portion beingturned inwardly upon itself a plurality of times to form a substantiallytriangular shaped rim having an outwardly and downwardly flared upperside, disposed at an oblique angle to the longitudinal axis of thecontainer, and a substantially flat underside disposed at an acute angleto the upper side and substantially at a right angle to the side wall ofthe container to form a shoulder; a cover having an annular downwardlyand outwardly flared annular ilange for engaging the upper surface ofsaid rim, and said flange having an inturned annular bead at its lowerend for engaging beneath the outerv GEORGE MYSELS.

